Yesterday, Donald Trump gave a big shoutout to all of his Nazi supporters by refusing to blame white nationalist ideologies for the murder of Heather Heyer during the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, with Trump choosing to say there was violence “on many sides” instead. It was arguably the most disgusting and shameful moment in his disgusting and shameful presidency (not to mention his disgusting and shameful life), but despite him getting rightfully slammed in the media, Trump has been largely and uncharacteristically silent since he pandered to the Nazis on Twitter.
Now, though, the White House has released a new statement that seeks to clarify what Trump said yesterday, but rather than formally declare that Donald Trump does not support these Nazis and their mission of bigotry, the statement is a clear attempt to gaslight the American people into believing that Trump did denounce the Nazis marching in Charlottesville. “The president said very strongly his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups,” the statement claims, adding that Trump “called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.”
Pointedly, this statement does not come from Trump himself, but rather “a White House spokesperson” who has not been named. In other words, nobody in this administration is personally willing to distance themselves from Nazis.